Published 4:12 pm, Tuesday, April 23, 2013

A local family is still reeling while it tries to understand why one of their family dogs was shot Sunday night by a Plainview police officer.

According to patrol Lt. Dion Guerra, a call came into the police department about 6:30 p.m. Sunday of two pit bulls fighting in the alley behind a residence in the 500 block of West 22nd.

With animal control and police officers Chris Abalos, Jeremy Martinez and Sgt. William Bridgewater on scene, attempts were made to break up the fight using methods that didn’t involve deadly force.

However, Guerra said when one of the dogs, a pit bull, charged Abalos, the officer was forced to discharge his weapon.

Guerra explained that as the officer was trying to gain distance between him and the dog, Abalos tripped over a gas line and fell.

“If he hadn’t discharged (his firearm) when he did, there was a possibility that he could have been attacked while on the ground,” Guerra said.

The pit bull’s owner, Bryan Gonzalez, said he had left his residence for work, and was almost there, when his wife called to tell them their 6-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier pit bull, named Kane, had been shot.

“He was my best friend,” Gonzalez said.

After Gonzalez arrived to the scene, officers told him that the boyfriend of the other dog’s owner was bitten while trying to separate the two dogs, and subsequently Gonzalez’s dog attacked one of the officers and was shot.

After a brief search, animal control personnel and police officers found the other dog a couple of blocks away. It was taken into custody by animal control.

Gonzalez said witnessing the death of their pet has been difficult for his wife and children. He said his children now think Plainview police are going to get rid of all dogs.

While originally told he could keep the deceased dog and bury it, Gonzalez said he was informed Monday by animal control officers that the dog’s head needed to be sent to Austin to test for rabies.

“It’s a shame that it happened,” Police Chief Will Mull said.

Mull and Guerra shared the same thought that when any animal threatens the public’s safety, or the safety of an officer, deadly force sometimes has to be used.

Guerra said an official investigation is routine procedure whenever a weapon is drawn and/or discharged by any officer outside of training. That investigation goes through the chain of command from Guerra to Mull.

Guerra said that at this point, it appears that the officer was within his rights and followed procedure during the incident.

As for Gonzalez, who has two other pit bulls which are 6 months old, he encourages other local dog owners to keep their dogs inside, in a fenced yard or on a leash to prevent a similar incident from happening to their family.